Vehicle Description in Cody Kidnapping

by Taylor Viydo, tviydo@k2tv.com

The FBI has released images and a description of the SUV believed to be driven by the suspect who kidnapped and sexually assaulted an 11 year old Cody girl on Monday.

FBI spokesman Dave Joly said in a news release that the car is a 2004 or 2005 white Toyota 4-Runner. The images released by the FBI show a silver over black cargo box on top of the SUV. However, Joly says the box was at some point removed from the top of the car and has since been recovered by authorities. On Friday, Joly said the box was being processed for evidence.

Investigators concluded on the description based on witness statements and footage from various cameras located around Cody.

On Monday, authorities say a man a man lured the girl into his car by saying he needed help finding a missing puppy. The man threatened the girl with a pistol and then drove her to Carter Mountain and sexually assaulted her. She was later released and found by a group of hunters.

The suspect is described as a white man between 55-60 years old, 6'0" with short white or strawberry blonde hair and a neatly trimmed beard or goatee. He was last seen wearing a brown shirt, blue jeans, and a baseball cap.

Joly says the man is considered armed and dangerous. If he or the SUV is seen, the FBI advises keeping your distance and then calling authorities. Anyone with any tips or information pertaining to his location or the SUV is asked to call the Cody Police Department at (307)-527-8700 or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

On Wednesday, authorities announced that they believe there is no connection between this case and the Jessica Ridgeway case in Colorado.